Lea Michele is the epitome of a strong woman. After the tragic death of her boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith, HollywoodLife.com as exclusively learned that she’s back on the ‘Glee’ set and is actually helping the rest of the cast recover.

It’s been a tough time for the cast of Glee, while they work to film the first three episodes of season five, but they’re sticking together as a family and spending a great deal of time filming off set, since it’s extremely difficult to be on set without Cory Monteith, a source tells HollywoodLife.com.

‘Glee’ Season 5: Set Without Cory Is ‘Awful’

We’ve told you that Glee will be airing three episodes beginning September 26 before taking a hiatus, and the third episode will be a tribute to Cory. However, we’re now learning that those three episodes are being filmed off-set.

“They have purposely decided to film the first three episodes as much away from the set as possible,” a source told us exclusively. “People still feel awful showing up to the set without Cory there. And after the third episode and the hiatus, enough time will go by and it will feel much more normal. Its really sad coming into work.”

As for the tribute episode, which is scheduled to air on October 10, the cast plans to view it together.

“The cast and crew have decided to all get together to watch the tribute episode — most likely on set — so we can all celebrate the life of Cory together.”

Lea Michele Filming ‘Glee': Helping To Put Cast Back Together

One person who has really stepped up as a leader is Lea Michele, much like her character Rachel Berry does in the show.

“Lea has been amazing,” the source said. “She is definitely very sad, but has gotten so much better and has really been strong. The whole crew and cast are now a family and Lea is leading us all back to a normal set life. Cory was a cool guy and will be missed.”

Lea has proven again and again how strong she really is. After her moving speech at the Teen Choice Awards, we all witnessed the support she was giving to the cast, and the way she was working hard to move forward.

“Glee’s creative team is looking to Lea to give the final word on decisions that are being made for this season’s third episode, which will be an emotional tribute to Cory,” a source close to the producers previously told HollywoodLife.com. “The meetings are lengthy and Lea is a part of them to make sure everything is just right.”